Leonidas
Leonidas was given to 591 boys in 2025, #510 among boys’ names; 10,281 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,640 Americans named Leonidas and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 8 years old and half are between 4 and 12.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Leonidas by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Leonidas mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Leonidas is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “son of Leon / lion” (Λεωνίδᾱς).
From Ancient Greek Λεωνίδᾱς (Leōnídās, “son of Leon / lion”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Leonidas?
#510 among boys’ names, 2025
Leonidas rose from #518 in 2015 to #510 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.29 to 0.35 per 1,000.
760 babies in 2022, the peak
Leonidas peaked in 2022, when 760 boys were given it, #421 among boys’ names. The 591 births of 2025 are 78% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 591 | #510 | 0.35 |
| 2024 | 597 | #510 | 0.35 |
| 2023 | 638 | #476 | 0.37 |
| 2022 | 760 | #421 | 0.44 |
| 2021 | 688 | #446 | 0.39 |
| 2020 | 649 | #457 | 0.38 |
| 2019 | 608 | #482 | 0.34 |
| 2018 | 569 | #504 | 0.31 |
| 2017 | 582 | #498 | 0.31 |
| 2016 | 593 | #505 | 0.31 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 556 | #518 | 0.29 |
| 2014 | 494 | #559 | 0.26 |
| 2013 | 337 | #704 | 0.18 |
| 2012 | 288 | #788 | 0.15 |
| 2011 | 234 | #888 | 0.12 |
| 2010 | 218 | #927 | 0.11 |
| 2009 | 201 | #986 | 0.10 |
| 2008 | 241 | #880 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 152 | #1,167 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 19 | #4,791 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 27 | #3,577 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 22 | #4,080 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 28 | #3,327 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 13 | #5,592 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 14 | #5,296 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 16 | #4,700 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,312 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 18 | #3,942 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 12 | #5,147 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 10 | #5,797 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 10 | #5,742 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 10 | #5,718 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 11 | #5,218 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 19 | #3,405 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,558 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 18 | #3,396 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 20 | #3,038 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 11 | #4,332 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #4,785 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 12 | #3,783 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 18 | #2,780 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 16 | #2,895 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 13 | #3,340 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 18 | #2,655 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 10 | #4,024 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 15 | #3,040 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 23 | #2,202 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 10 | #3,740 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 6 | #5,550 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 17 | #2,562 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 15 | #2,707 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 13 | #2,882 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 10 | #3,344 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 11 | #3,078 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 16 | #2,424 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 13 | #2,691 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 9 | #3,218 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 11 | #2,673 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 14 | #2,215 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 17 | #1,934 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 6 | #3,756 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 15 | #2,165 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 10 | #2,784 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 11 | #2,601 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 14 | #2,294 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 5 | #4,372 | under 0.01 |
| 1959 | 10 | #2,747 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 10 | #2,741 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 11 | #2,576 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 6 | #3,764 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 9 | #2,882 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 10 | #2,672 | under 0.01 |
| 1953 | 11 | #2,469 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 7 | #3,237 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 9 | #2,693 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 6 | #3,539 | under 0.01 |
| 1948 | 8 | #2,921 | under 0.01 |
| 1947 | 9 | #2,782 | under 0.01 |
| 1946 | 7 | #3,064 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 6 | #3,183 | under 0.01 |
| 1944 | 8 | #2,762 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 9 | #2,657 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 7 | #3,019 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 11 | #2,257 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 9 | #2,550 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 10 | #2,416 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 15 | #1,883 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,019 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 8 | #2,842 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 8 | #2,853 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,458 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 12 | #2,266 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 11 | #2,406 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 12 | #2,382 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 12 | #2,397 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 19 | #1,799 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 15 | #2,160 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,261 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 19 | #1,843 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 21 | #1,754 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 19 | #1,843 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 18 | #1,930 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 15 | #2,217 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 28 | #1,408 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 21 | #1,670 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 18 | #1,866 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 24 | #1,465 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 19 | #1,672 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 15 | #1,931 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 12 | #1,918 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,550 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 6 | #1,651 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,139 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 7 | #950 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,179 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 6 | #977 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 8 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 6 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,024 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #901 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 5 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Leonidas a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Leonidas has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 121 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Leonidas: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Leonidas, and how old are they?
9,640 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 10,281 Americans ever recorded as Leonidas. The median Leonidas alive today is 8 years old; half are between 4 and 12.
The 2020 Census counted 6,476 people named Leonidas (476 women and girls, 6,000 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,965 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 29 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 114 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 182 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 211 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,610 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Leonidas born?
The states with the most babies named Leonidas are Texas, California and Florida, with 34% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 76 | #447 | 1.0× |
| California | 64 | #497 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 48 | #408 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 28 | #392 | 0.9× |
| New York | 26 | #595 | 0.9× |
| Colorado | 22 | #301 | 1.5× |
| Washington | 20 | #375 | 1.2× |
| Virginia | 20 | #402 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 16 | #610 | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 16 | #445 | 0.8× |
Where Leonidas is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Leonidas is most over-represented in Colorado: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Leonidas with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 11,150 babies since 1880, Leonidas is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 591 of their 602 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Leonidas
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Leonidas and names like it
- Compare Leonidas and LeonidesBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sLeonidas peaked in 2022.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Leonidas since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Leonidas: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Leonidas.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Leonidas alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.